# 119-hr-1692: PATHS Act

119-hr-1692, PATHS Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Guest, Michael [R-MS-3] (R-MS); status passed_house; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-07-15).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1692
- As of: 2026-07-15
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-1692
- Congress: 119
- Title: PATHS Act
- Status: passed_house
- Introduced: 2025-02-27
- Sponsor: Rep. Guest, Michael [R-MS-3] (R-MS)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-07-15

## Summary

**Extends DHS authority to use other transactions (OT) for research and prototype projects through FY2028.** This bill would also require fast congressional notice and a briefing when OT authority is used or extended for artificial intelligence work, and it would lower DHS's public reporting threshold for contract awards to $1 million. - Department of Homeland Security: Keeps the flexible OT option for research and prototypes when contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements are not suitable and extends that authority through FY2028. - Congress and oversight committees: Must be notified within 72 hours of any use or extension of OT authority tied to artificial intelligence and be offered a briefing explaining the rationale. - Companies and public transparency: More awards will appear on DHS's website because the public-reporting threshold falls from $4 million to $1 million, and the bill also lowers the NDAA "covered contract" threshold to $1 million.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Rep. Thanedar, Shri [D-MI-13] (D-MI), 2025-02-27T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- DHS R&D pilot extended, AI alerts to Congress: benefit, low. If enacted, DHS could keep its R&D buying pilot through September 30, 2028. This mainly affects companies that work on DHS research projects. For any AI-related deals using this authority, DHS would need to notify House and Senate appropriations and homeland security committees within 72 hours and…
- More DHS contracts covered at $1 million: cost, medium. If enacted, the "covered contract" floor would drop from $4 million to $1 million. More DHS contractors with awards at $1 million or more would face the related rules and oversight. This would take effect when the bill becomes law.

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-2725: Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025
- 119-hr-6900: American Affordability Act of 2025
- 119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025
- 119-hr-137: TCJA Permanency Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-1692 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1692)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-2725: Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2725)
- [119-hr-6900: American Affordability Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6900)
- [119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4206)
- [119-hr-137: TCJA Permanency Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-137)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1692 (as of 2026-07-15).